Though the jury's left for the day, Judge James Zagel and Rod Blagojevich's lawyers and prosecutors are still holed up in court going over what tapes attorneys can play in Blagojevich's defense.

The defense wants to play a tape where Blagojevich talks to his press secretary, supposedly planting a false trail for the media that he's thinking of appointing Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. to the Senate seat. But it's all a ploy, the defense says: Blagojevich just wants help from the Washington establishment with brokering a deal to get legislation passed in exchange for appointing Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the seat.

"And he does this not by talking to insiders, but by talking to his press secretary?" asks a skeptical Zagel.

Zagel questions whether that's a good argument to present to the jury. Why, he wonders, would the defense want to paint their client as someone willing to lie and plant false stories to the public? Do they think the jury "will think it's swell"?

"The record should indicate that I've said this in an ironic and jocular tone of voice," Zagel concludes.

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Day three of Rod Blagojevich's testimony begins today as the defense continues to give jurors its own take on the prosecution's various shakedown charges. The government outlined five major shakedown allegations and Blagojevich last week testified abo... Read More